Kiss Me While I Sleep (Howard, Linda) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "LILY TILTED HER HEAD AND SMILED AT HER COMPANION, SALVAtore Nervi, as the maitre d' silently and with grace seated her at the best table..." (more)
Key Phrases: avian virus, avian flu, contract agent, Salvatore Nervi, Rodrigo Nervi, Denise Morel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

CIA contract agent Lily Mansfield has been a ruthless, professional assassin for nearly 20 of her 37 years, but her work takes a personal turn after the young girl she rescued off the street as a baby, and the friends that were raising her, are killed. Lily turns renegade and avenges their deaths with a brilliantly executed murder, but she soon finds herself hunted by an evil family, embroiled in a plot that threatens the safety of the world, and chased by handsome CIA agent Lucas Swain, who has been charged with bringing Lily back by any means necessary. Though Howard's latest offering (after Cry No More) is far flung, the high energy story line translates well to audio thanks to the compelling performances of Hill and Bean. The duo deftly tackle the story's many intonations and foreign accents, and their skillful use of nuance lends some depth to Howard's larger-than-life characters.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Description

If you sense someone's watching you from afar, or if you feel a shadow other than your own at your back, I might as well pack it up and call it a day.

It's a job that makes a killing. Efficient, professional, and without apology, Lily Mansfield is a hired assassin, working as a contract agent for the CIA. Her targets are the powerful and corrupt, those who can't be touched by the law.

Now, after nineteen years of service, Lily has been drawn into a dangerous game that hasn't been sanctioned, seeking vengeance for her own reasons. Each move bolder than the next, she is compromising her superiors, drawing unwanted attention, and endangering her very life. Though stress and shock have made her feel somewhat invincible and a little cocky, Lily knows that she too can be taken out in an instant. And if it's her time, so be it. She intends to go down fighting.

A CIA agent himself, Lucas Swain recognizes the signs of trauma in the line of fire. His orders: either bring her in or bring her down. Yet he too is drawn into the game with Lily Mansfield, dancing on a tightrope as he tries to avoid a major international incident while still battling a tenacious foe who is dogging their every step. Keeping laser focus on the task at hand while vigilantly watching her back, Mansfield never sees the lethal peril that lies directly in her path . . . and how loyalty has a price.

Chock-full of the intrigue, breathless action, and sensuality that have made Linda Howard the master of romantic suspense, Kiss Me While I Sleep is a daring thriller of passion, sudden twists, and richly imagined characters who live and breathe in reader's hearts. It is the most gripping and complex novel of Linda Howard's career.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (July 13, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345453433
• ISBN-13: 978-0345453433
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #660,920 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper from Linda Howard, July 19, 2004

By	Nancy J. Silberstein (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In "Kiss Me While I Sleep," Linda Howard has returned to the world of John Medina and Niemi Burdock, the world of covert intelligence operations and contract killers. She has also returned to the theme she explored in "Cry No More," the trauma of a parent who has lost a child.

Lily Mansfield is a contract killer for the CIA, 37 years old, with 19 years of experience. She is also a grieving parent whose 13-year-old, adopted daughter has recently been killed, along with her foster parents who were Lily's best friends. Lily has set out to kill the man who ordered the hit on Zia and her foster parents, and to wreck as much havoc as she can on his organization. She is doing this without the CIA's sanction; in fact, they have sent one of their top agents, Lucas Swain, to stop her.

Sound grim? It isn't. Lucas Swain is not only an alpha hunk, he is also one funny guy. I found myself chuckling at Swain's opinions and actions, whether it was his thoughts on "chick food" or his views on Fiats. (He hates 'em.) The man went through more cars than Stephanie Plum.

If "Cry No More" had a fairly straightforward plot, that must have been because Howard was saving all her twists and turns for "Kiss Me While I Sleep." Just when you think you understand all Lily's and Swain's schemes and counter-schemes, Howard gives the plot a twist, and you realize you've been led down the garden path. Again.

All in all, a delightful read with a sexy hero and heroine, a serious examination of a parent's grief, and a plot that will have your head spinning. Highly recommended.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More like 4 1/2 stars, but wonderful none-the-less, July 14, 2004

By	Amy (VA USA) - See all my reviews

I'm a big fan of Linda Howard. She's about the only author I read that I shell out for a hardcover. I wasn't disappointed when I bought Cry No More, but this was a different story, different mood, different characters. Personally, I liked Cry No More much better, but this one had its moments. For instance, I got a pleasant surprise to find out how Medina was doing (although indirectly). The love scenes were much different than her usual and now I know how they got the cover art. I also liked the originality of this one, but at first, I wasn't sure how I would like a 37 year old female assassin as the main character. I have to say that she grew on me; I thought she suffered enough and needed a way out. It was also easy to follow her train of thoughts and helped me relate to her as a person. Swain was another story. He was a little too easy going and light hearted. Not what I expected of a CIA man sent to "terminate" her. But they worked well together and it helped lighten the mood of the book. The more I think about it, the more I realize that he was the only type of guy matched for Lily.

Reasons why I thought it fell slightly short of 5 stars...one, the way she was too trusting of Swain - not a characteristic that I would attribute to a 19 year veteran in the game. Two, I didn't think there was enough heart stopping action. For a CIA contract assassin and a CIA field agent, I sort of hoped for more cliffhanger type action. Three, the ending felt rushed. Personally, I like the end wrapped up nice and neat. Not to say this didn't end the way I wanted, but that I'm not into such an abrupt ending. Or maybe I wasn't ready for the book to end.

Overall, I liked the book because I'm a fan of Howard's writing style and I like the characters she develops. She tells a great story in a way that I like to read it. Can't wait for her next one.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Excuse me while I weep....., August 13, 2004

By	a reader from (Denton TX) - See all my reviews

I have to agree with Silver Tarnished about this book, the latest from Linda Howard. I didn't believe in Lily for a minute--or care much about her--and while I could see that Howard was trying to write against type by making Lucas Swain easygoing, cheerful, and upbeat instead of the stereotypical dark and dangerous CIA operative, he didn't work well for me, either. Far from being a page turner, this Howard novel was slow going; I lost interest even while I was reading it.

In attempting to leave the romance novel behind for the more seriously regarded genre of romantic mystery, crafted so beautifully by writers such as Mary Stewart, Howard has lost her niche, in my opinion. She writes well enough, and as a romance novel author, she can be moving and comical--(the scene in Open Season when the heroine and hero discuss the colors mauve and puce is a good example)--but she doesn't seem able to pull off the plotting or the characterization in her later stories of intrigue and mystery. One example: The character of Lily in KMWIS is a contract killer of long duration who plans every move with careful precision and far in advance. Yet she walks through an airport carrying a tote bag and a carry-on which, when viewed later on security cameras, easily identifies her. It would have been so easy for Howard to have made the bag reversible, or substituted one bag inside the other, but how, then would the hero have discovered who she was and managed to track her? This is what I mean about plotting. Whatever Howard needs to happen, happens. Realistic plotting is difficult and if not done well, makes the whole concept look silly and artificial. Perhaps Howard should take notes from the seasoned writers of crime noir if she wants to continue writing in this genre.

I also grew very weary of the repeated reminders of Lily's love for Zia, her main motive for revenge. I was unconvinced mainly because Lily is not written deeply enough to make us feel what Howard says she (Lily) feels about the child, her friends, or her terrible need for revenge. In trying to convince us and, therefore, make her assassin heroine more palatable, Howard is guilty of--no pun intended--overkill.

I discovered Howard two years ago when someone gave me a copy of Mr. Perfect, an appealing if less-than-perfectly-written little comic/romance/mystery. I followed it with Open Season, which I liked quite a lot. I've since read all her older romance and historical novels, many of which I think are very well done. However, Cry No More suffered from some of the same flaws as Kiss Me While I Sleep, in my opinion. I look forward with a mixture of eagerness and trepidation to the book due in December. Like many other reviewers here, I think I'll wait for the paperback.